The Dark Lady's Stone

To enhance his reputation as a poet, Sir Loriano of Vayne, troubadour to Countess Elisse of Karaska, plans to compose an epic of Sacerdote Danestor's mission to destroy the Standing Stone and cave of the Dark Lady of Death, tormentor of souls. Danestor serves Brocar, god of Fire and Light, who punishes the land with drought and blight. To appease the god, His immortal enemy must be destroyed. Count Reynal of Karaska and the whole court—count and countess, lords and ladies, priests, soldiers, and servants—undertake the journey to the long-lost and perilous Lake Illia where Her cave is rumored to be. On the way, a forest shaman's epic tale awakens Loriano’s bardic roots. He realizes that the gods are not as the priests teach. At the lake, Loriano must decide whether to remain a court poet or become a prophet and which god to serve. He risks a heretic’s death by fire to stop Danestor from igniting a catastrophe for both the living and the dead.